Open heel shoe



Sept. 19', 1950 G, v. LEONARD 2,522,681

OPEN HEEL SHOE Filed May 11, 1948 INVEN TOR. 6 8076176 M Leona In f ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 1950 AUNITED .S-TATES PATENT fO-FEICE OPEN HEELSHOE Georgene V. Leonard; HudsonyOhio Application, May 11, 1948, Serial No. 26,351

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to Womens shoes and particularly to the -so-called" open heel or sling type shoe.

"In shoes'of the sling type, both the tendency of the shoe to drop or pull away from the heel .the leather or shoe material is self-supporting. However, after the shoe has been worn for a short While and subjected to the usual-stresses and weather, conditions, the strap or sling tends to stretch and lose its self-supporting characteristics as well as to be inadequately supported by the rudimentary, upper.

As a result the strap or sling tends to sag from its point of connection .with the upperso that the rear of the. sling drops below the ball of the heel and ceases to perform its intended function. This'also causes wrinkling or creasing of the rudimentary upper of the shoe, thereby detracting. from the appearance of the shoe.

One, of theprincipal objects of the. present invention is to eliminate these undesirable results in a sling type shoe by providing a composite strap or a reinforce which supports the strap in proper position above the ball of the heel throughout substantially the life of the shoe and which also prevents the creasing, wrinkling, and weakening, of the rudimentary upper where the latter is connected to or merges with the strap.

Another object is to effect these results by a reinforce which has a supporting and gripping effect on the sides of the foot in the region above the arch of the shoe.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description wherein reference is made to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sling type shoe embodying the principles of the. present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showingthe relation of thereinforced strap to the heel of the wearers foot, the position of the foot of the wearer being indicated in dotted-lines;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which thereinforce is embedded in the shoe;

- Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective viewsillustrating modified forms of reinforces, respectively,-of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 1; the-shoe comprises -the usual upper i, the sole 2 and heel 3, the sole 2 being continued rearwardly and thickened beneath the arch and forming the usual shank 4 just forward of-the top front of the heel. I'he sole continuesrearwardlyfrom theshank 4-- to provide a relatively thin front covering 5 of the heel 3.

The upper I ghas'the usual vamp 6 which; in the shoe illustrated, is relatively short. A portion of the .usual innersole overlies the top'of. the

heel.

In theordinary box type of shoe the counter extends upwardly from the periphery of theheel, so as to form a housing for the heel, of the foot, to a locationjust above the ball of the heel. In the present .sling type of shoe the counter and upper are eliminated above the region of the heel 3, the upper terminating at its rear portion just forwardly of the heel and extendingupward- 1y from the shank 4 and merging gradually into the strap or sling I.

- In the sling type shoe thus far described the sling 1 terminates short of the rear-of the heel 3 so as to overlie a portion of the ball of the heel,

. asindicated at 8, when the heel of the foot is resting on top of the heel 3 of the shoe and supporting the Weight of the wearer.

As mentioned, however, when such shoes have been worn for a short period, the strap 1 tends to stretch andbecome weaker and progressively less self-supporting. Also, as the remainder'of the shoe becomes stretched and accommodated to the foot, the foot tends to creep forwardly. in the shoe so that the ball of the wearers heel does not afford much support for the strap. Furthermore, the weight of the strap and stresses exerted by the continual flexure during walking, soon cause creases and wrinkles in the rudimentary upper along the region of juncture of the strap and upper; for example in the region bounded by the lines my and we in Fig. 1. Also, there is a pronounced tendency of suchshoes to develope longitudinal wrinkles extending on a line from the top front of the heel to the top rear ofthe 3 be so incorporated as to form a composite sling or heel strap.

At the region of the shank 4, the sole 2 is made relatively thick and is convex downwardly on the undersurface. The outer surface of the upper of the shoe is secured at its lower margin in face to face relation against the margins of the upper face of the shank 4, suitable marginal shoulders usually being provided in the upper face of the shank to accommodate the lower margins of the upper. The inner side lining ll of the shoe is juxtaposed on and glued to the margin of the upper where it overlies the shank 4. Normally in sling type shoes, an innermost lining [2 of soft leather is juxtaposed on the inner lining H, and glued thereto. In some instances a layer of fabric or canvas is disposed between the upper and lining H and secured to both at its upper and lower margins.

A metal arch support l3 usually overlies the shank and this and the lower margin of the innermost lining i2 are overlaid with an innersole I 4 which is of relatively thick leather and is glued to the innermost lining l2, to the shank 4, and to the arch reinforce l3.

A sole liner [5, of thin leather, overlies the innersole l4 and extends slightly therebeyond so as to lie flush against the innermost side lining l2. Normally, the upper, the inner side lining l i,

and the innermost lining 12 continue rearwardly and form the sling or strap 7 of the shoe, though the lining I2 is sometimes terminated short of the strap and so is omitted in Fig. 3.

In accordance with the present invention, however, a stiffening element or reinforce i6 is provided and may be interposed between the lining H and the upper I. In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4, the reinforce is made in two portions. Each portion of the reinforce l6 may be relatively stifi and preferably resilient, leather, whale bone, metal such as aluminum or spring steel, and molded or sheet plastic being satisfactory. The reinforce, regardless of material, though relatively thin, is capable of self-support edgewise and, when incorporated in the heel strap, as later described, supports it in its normal operating position above the heel yet permits it to conform, fiatwise, to the spherical contour of the heel. Each portion of the reinforce i6 is shown as comprising thin sheet steel embedded between and preferably bonded to the innermost layer of material of the upper l and the inner lining H, though it may be between the innermost lining l2 and inner lining l I.

As shown, each reinforce portion is arranged with a lower portion 28, just forward of the heel, which extends transversely of the shoe to the adjacent lateral edge of the arch support l3 and is embedded in the shank portion 4 of the sole or between it and the innersole 14. Thus it is firmly anchored at the base. Each reinforce por- -tion [6 has an outwardly and upwardly extend- ;ing portion 2! which extends preferably almost the reinforce in a strap of which two ends are sewed together at the rear of the loop.

Corresponding right and left portions 16 are arranged on opposite sides of the shoe. In both instances the strap engaging portions of the reinforce follow the general inward upward contour of the ball of the heel so as to partially overlie the ball and have a light gripping effect thereon throughout the extent of their engagement therewith. Likewise the reinforces are curved transversely of their lengths so as to overhang and lightly grip the instep and sides of the foot near their upper margins, thus retaining the shoe snugly against the foot in such regions. This likewise reinforces the shoe at the zone defined by the lines my and me so as to eliminate wrinkling or breaking at this location, and also strengthens the shoe on a line from the top front of the heel to the rear of the vamp 6.

The reinforce portions l6 preferably are tapered to a rounded point toward the rear end instead of following the lower edge of the strap and are arranged at their rear portions near the upper edge of the strap. This gives the effect of a continuous strength beam, thus giving better distribution of stresses on the strap and reinforce than would occur were the reinforce portions abruptly terminated. Likewise it should be noted that the reinforce portions are preferably gradually feathered to a relatively thin cross section flatwise from front to rear as well as transversely of their widths so that they gradually merge into the strap. In those instances wherein they are continued entirely around the rear of the heel, as illustrated in Fig. 5, they can be reduced almost to small wire size at the rear part of the heel.

Referring next to Figs. 5 and 6, modified forms of the reinforce are illustrated. Each of these reinforces may be made of leather, metal, plastic, or other resilient material, or laminations of leather and other resilient material as above described.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 5, a reinforce, indicated at 3i), is made with right and left reinforcing portions forming a unitary structure in which the strap reinforcing portion 31 extends entirely around from one side to the other of the shoe. Likewise, they may or may not, as desirable, have their base portions 32 joined, as indicated. The base portions, if joined, extend entirely across the shoe and have a central longitudinal channel 33 which is adapted to accommodate the metal arch reinforcement or support, such as the support *3 in Fig. 4. In this connection, it should be noted that the reinforce 16, illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4, instead of terminating in spaced relation, as indicated at 2 may be joined to form a continuous band so that the strap 1 is reinforced through its length.

In Fig. 6 there is illustrated a reinforce which is particularly useful in connection with sling type shoes in which the strap is buckled to the upper at one side so as to be adjustable. In such an instance the reinforce 34 may be essentially the same as the reinforce 39 of Fig. 5 except that the strap portion 35 extends entirely around the rear of the heel and terminates, as indicated at 36, at a point close to where the strap is to be buckled to the upper. The portion 31 in turn extend rearwardly at the buckle side of the shoe to a point adjacent the buckle. It should be noted also that in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4, the reinforce portions It may be joined by continuing the portions at 23 from one side of the shoe entirely across the top of the vamp 6 to the other side, even though the portions 20 of the reinforce portions [6 are not joined.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sling type shoe having the usual inner and outer sole members, a vamp member and an upper member, and having an open back heel with a heel strap spaced above the level of the top of the heel, a reinforcing means secured to one of said members and having at least one elongated portion extending rearwardly of the shoe endwise 0f the strap beyond the forward limit of the heel and spaced at a predetermined level above the level of the top of the heel and secured to the strap for fiexure fiatwise of the strap therewith, said portion being readily flexible flatwise of the strap and relatively stifi edgewise of the strap and being operative to retain the strap at said predetermined level.

2. The structure according to claim 1 characterized in that said reinforcing means has a side reinforcing portion at one side of the shoe positioned closely in front of the heel and extending upwardly from adjacent the lower limit of said upper member close to the top edge thereof, and said elongated portion extends rearwardly from the upper portion of said side reinforcing portion at least to the longitudinal midportion of the loop formed by the strap when the strap is in engagement with the heel of a wearer of the shoe.

3. The structure according to claim 1 characterized in that said elongated portion extends at least near to the rear limit of the loop formed by the strap when the strap is in embracing relation to the heel of the wearer of the shoe.

4. The structure according to claim 1 characterized in that said elongated portion extends to and beyond the rear of the loop formed by the strap when the strap is in embracing relation to the heel of a wearer of the shoe.

5. The structure according to claim 1 characterized in that said elongated portion is substantially coextensive With the length of the heel embracing portion of the strap.

6. The structure according to claim 1 further characterized in that said one elongated portion of the reinforcing means extends rearwardly at one side of the heel and said reinforcing means has a second elongated portion extending rear- Wardly of the shoe endwise of the strap at the opposite side of the heel and said elongated portions terminate in spaced relation to each other rearwardly of the longitudinal midportion of the heel of the shoe.

7. The structure according to claim 1 further characterized in that said one elongated portion of the reinforcing means extends rearwardly at one side of the heel and said reinforcing means has a second elongated portion extending rearwardly of the shoe endwise of the strap at the 0pposite side of the heel, and the combined length of said elongated portions being equal to at least the major portion of the length of the heel embracing portion of the strap.

GEORGENE V. LEONARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,972,899 Odell Sept. 11, 1934 2,446,169 Cochary Aug. 3, 1948 

